Open Doors Canada is honouring persecuted Christians around the world with its One With Them challenge, a five-day prayer initiative devoted to the faithful suffering for their faith around the world. 

Beginning June 23, following One With Them Sunday, the challenge takes participants through various daily spiritual disciplines to remember and pray for persecuted Christians and their families across the globe. Each day, participants will hear a story of a persecuted Christian and will look to do an act of solidarity with them. 

Andrew Croft, Open Doors Canada’s communications and relations manager,   said while the organization has committed to strengthening persecuted Christians with the one-day One With Them Sunday observance for the past five years, the newest wrinkle hopes to provide a sustained effort toward the cause. 

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“Hebrews 13:3 talks a lot about remembering those in prison as if you were in prison, and then the story of Peter and being imprisoned, where it’s said that the Church was earnestly praying for him. We thought we should be doing the same for those being held captive for their faith,” he said. 

“We wanted to encourage people to spend a whole week focused on praying for these Christian captives.  We talk to our partners in the field and get direction on finding prisoners and captives who need that prayer in their lives, and it’s something that anybody can do.”

Open Doors Canada will also be sharing stories, prayer requests and hosting a special online event focused on Christian captives throughout  June, culminating on One With Them Sunday and the One With Them Challenge. 

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“It is encouraging to see momentum growing in the Canadian Church to pray for persecuted Christian's who are being held captive for their faith. We believe the prayers of the faithful on June 22 will result in freedom for captives worldwide,” said Gary Stagg, executive director of Open Doors Canada. 

Unfortunately, Open Doors Canada has no shortage of testimonies and stories to share. Its 2025 World Watch List research showed 4,744 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned because of their faith last year alone. Another 3,775 Christians were abducted, 4,476 Christians were murdered and 7,679 churches and Christian properties were attacked.

These are only the cases Open Doors Canada is aware of. 

“Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was imprisoned for a decade in Iran, and he wrote a letter from prison, and that sounded like Paul when he was writing to the Philippians, where he said, ‘I'm in prison, but people know I'm in prison for Jesus, and that is okay,’ ” said Croft. "We’ve talked a lot about a young girl named Leah Sharibu from Nigeria, who was abducted in 2018 and has remained captive to this day. She chose to follow Jesus, and she sent a message home to her parents saying that they taught her that Jesus is close to people in pain, and that she knew she would see their faces again, whether here on Earth or in the bosom of our Father in Heaven.”  

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Croft said we are called to be part of a Church, one that teaches us that when one part suffers, we all suffer with it. 

“These aren't just other, random Christians; these are our family members in Christ. If your biological family member was being held captive, you would be moved to pray, act and do something about it.”